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August 21st, 2000

2000Fires,
(a plot conceived by the wives of fishermen and hunters)

By Don Cianca (U.D.)

We are in the middle of August when dry fly fishing should
be like free booze to an alcoholic. But instead of being on
our streams or fishing our lakes, we are somewhat, "confined
to quarters".

First, a winter that delivered below average snowpack, and then
a spring that was abnormally dry, found Montana Rivers flowing
at rates well below average. Add to that record breaking
temperatures, and fishing conditions became marginal at best.
Stream flows dropped so low that the upper portion of the Big
Hole River was closed to all fishing. The primary purpose was
to protect the Grayling population, which is sensitive to warm
temperatures. The strain of Grayling in the Big Hole River is
the only one of it's kind in the lower USA and much has already
taken place to protect it.

Continuing decreased flows in the river, and additional section
of river was closed. This time to protect trout as well as Grayling.
Fish were beginning to crowd pools of deeper waters and the
subsequent stress was doing them no favors. Fishermen were
asked to fish early in the morning or later in the day when
the water temperature would be coolest and minimize the stress
on caught and released fish. Then, earlier this week, the entire
river was closed to all fishing.

Dry conditions produced ideal conditions for fires. News of the
huge forest fires raging across Montana and Idaho has been the
lead item in all the news media of late. While the drought
conditions set the stage for the fires, somehow I have the
feeling my wife, along with hundreds (if not thousands) of
others have been "fanning" those fires. Since I have been
"Confined to quarters," the jobs and projects around the
house have been, and are staring me in the face. I suppose
the time I would normally spend fishing can now be put to
use by repairing the leaky toilet, or finishing to strip
the paint on the doorframe that I started two years ago,
or clean out the garage, or take my wife to dinner, or travel
to somewhere she has wanted to go, or . . .